Back again!!! Op HERRICK XVI

[Lesser Spot Finder]

The offer of Afghan citizenship is in the bag and I now find myself back in the same place I left some 21 months ago. Bastion has changed considerably; there is a runway on my old patch and the perimiter is now larger than Reading! As such, I am still trying to find an area to bird and will look at a suitable location once I get a vehicle.

Currently there are more Coffee Shops than bird species! Having tasted the best coffee Afghanistan can offer whilst mulling over the lack of bird species I can only be disappointed when comparing birds seen in January and February 2010 to those of this month. To date I have found a number of Tree Sparrow colonies, a Laughing Dove, numerous Crested Larks and 200+ Crowned Sandgrouse which were buffeted in strong winds during a vigil for a lost comrade last week. A flock of bounding finches were too distant to identify two days ago; schoolboy error for not carrying my bins with me at all times.

Mammals are present in the form of Mice in my hooch and I am considering the possibility of a Longworth Mammal Trap to see what we have. It's too cold for Butterflies or Dragonflies you'll be glad to hear.

I am off out in the next few days and will hopefully pick up things then. Watch this space.

Here we go again!